Saturday, September 7, 2013

An Early Morning Backyard Drama

August 29, 2013: I woke this morning to a heavy
blanket of clouds and drove into heavy rain as I dropped my grandson at school.
The rain never actually made it to my house, but was localized over the
Catalina foothills. Nonetheless, the rain and clouds did manage to drop the
temperature for awhile and after returning home, I was able to sit outside on
the patio and eat my breakfast and watch birds. A cool breeze ruffles my napkin
and tries to tease it away from me, but I am just quick enough to grab it before
it is gone. Meanwhile the hummingbirds buzz by my head and do battle over the
feeders suspended from the support columns of the patio roof.

All is peace and
bliss in the backyard as doves feed below the feeders and house finches and
goldfinch twitter and chirp in the backyard trees and bushes.

As I sit quietly writing in my
journal suddenly there is a bird explosion as wings take to the sky and talons
drop like knives into the body of a mourning dove. A quick look through my bins
reveals the streaky brown face and breast of a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk hunched
over the body of a hapless dove. I try to get up from my chair quietly and hide
behind one of the pillars to get a photo of the hawk on its prey, but those
hawk eyes see me and the young bird lifts off with the dove clutched tightly in
its claws.

It lands just over the wall in my neighbor’s mesquite tree, and
after a few adjustments it finds a spot it likes to sit and dine. I remain in
my chair after this, not wanting to scare the young bird off its prey.

As I continue to sit and write I
keep my eye on the birds in my backyard. What amazes me is how fast they return
to normal. I have seen this on nature shows in Africa where the antelope or
gazelles will be in a panic until the lions or cheetahs make their kill, then everyone
goes back to peaceful grazing.

Soon the goldfinches and house finches go back
to chirping and twittering, the hummingbirds go back to jousting and one dove
even perches in the same tree while the Cooper’s devours its prey! But then a
funny thing happens.

A pair of Gila Woodpeckers flies in and starts squeaking
and squealing. They stay high in the tree above the hawk but seem to feel it is
necessary to let the whole world know that there is a hawk in the tree. They keep
up their vocal barrage, which really does sound like a conversation, for quite
awhile, until finally they fly off and the yard grows quiet again.

I wonder how often these dramas
are carried out with no one to see them. Obviously it happens numerous times
every day. If I had not been sitting outside at the time I would never have
witnessed this. If it had been as hot as it has been I would not have been
sitting outside today at all. But the heavy cloud cover and the early morning rain
made sitting outside comfortable for me and I love to sit outside. This morning’s
drama is one of the reasons why. And though I live in the middle of a suburban
neighborhood, I feel privileged to witness such a natural event. ~kab

Note: All photos used today are from my archives.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk in my Tucson backyard 9-14-2012

You can see more birds photos and read more stories and poems by clicking on the links below:

loved this interesting post; don't you just love being able to have it all unfold before your eyes like this?! I know you do, you wrote this so clearly, and it's how I love to observe nature also. Some days we're just lucky; in the right place, and the right time, and 'amazed' at what we might see

What a break in your morning. You were lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and to manage to grab your camera to record so much of it to share with us. I'd hate to have been the dove - life is uncertain!

Hi Katie! I enjoyed your post, it made me feel as if I was right there watching it all happen. Glad the Catalina's are getting some rain and that the cloud cover is providing you with "cooler" temperatures. Happy Birding!

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